I'm Pete du Pont with the National Center for Policy Analysis.
I was glad to see president-elect Bush is sticking to his plan for a $1.3 trillion tax cut over ten years, despite the pooh-poohing of the chattering classes.
We've been allowed to ignore the fact because the economy's been so good, but taxes are too high – 20.4 percent of GDP, and the marginal rates have risen from Ronald Reagan's tax cuts. So, as the economy prospers, more people get pushed into those higher brackets.
But along with the moral argument for a tax cut – it's your money not theirs, and a surplus is simply evidence that they've taxed you too much – there's now another argument.
The economy is slowing down. Some people are even talking about a recession. If that's true, nothing jump starts the economy like a tax cut. It's worked for democrat and republican presidents alike, and it would work for Bush, too.
Asking for a cut is taken as a sign of Bush's lack of a willingness to compromise – but Bush won, and keeping campaign promises is a good thing.
So shouldn't there be a little compromise talk from other side?
Those are my ideas, and at the NCPA we know ideas can change the world. I'm Pete du Pont. Next time, keeping the college.